I’ve been looking for this one on and off since about 2004 with no luck. Turns out its attached to the Rockville ice rink which is a bit off of a minor road in an industrial park and is impossible to see until you’re right on top of it. It’s a Kullman and according to Richard Gutman’s The American Diner Then and Now, it’s from 1997.
50 Southlawn Ct. Rockville MD.
We hit this diner in early 2006, just before it moved to New York, where it was restored and reopened as the Elizaville Diner. It was built in 1956 by Kullman.
Siding additions to the vestibule obscure the stainless and a tin mansard roof disguises space-age eaves.
Turquoise and stainless
Canted corner and rounded glass
Join us for breakfast
Jefferson Golden Hour Mystery Clock
Flannel
Seeburg
“Atomic Bongo” stools
15 year old me with cream chipped beef.
Restored and on the cover of Diners of New York, by Mike Engle and Mario Monti
The old Kullman at Adams Antique Mall in PA was moved to Washington DC in 2005/06 and never opened. It was later demolished.
Photos in Pennsylvania.
It appears there is now nothing left.
According to their now non-existent website:
Opening Summer 2006
Fat Dog’s Hot Dog Bistro sells premium hot dogs with a variety of classic and creative toppings.
From our vintage bistro to our customer inspired menu, we are all about quality and excellence. At Fat Dog’s Hot Dog Bistro, we make good food that’s fast, fresh and fun!
We use only quality ingredients starting with an exceptional dog carefully selected for maximum freshness and flavor. Our dogs are grilled not boiled. Our veggies are fresh, not frozen. And our toppings are made to order. We make our twice-cooked Belgian fries fresh throughout the day. Our goal is simple – to serve the best hot dogs and French fries in Washington, DC.
Location
4903 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE
Telephone: 202-448-2875
Fax: 202-448-1390
Fat Dog Enterprises
2526 Pennsylvania Avenue SE #201
Washington, DC 20020z
Everyone loves a Fat Dog!
Start with one the most popular foods in America and then let imagination be your guide. Have your dog, the way you want it. Try a classic chili-cheese with loaded with diced tomato or branch out and try the “Dog of the Week”. Fat Dogs come in as many flavors as there are Americans. So don’t settle for the ordinary – “Build a Better Dog!”
Fries cooked in 100% Peanut Oil
Hand-cut Fresh Fries (Small, Large)
Chili Fries (Cheese, chopped onion no x-charge)
Shakes
Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry
Cones
Chocolate, Vanilla
Skinny Dog
Grilled beef hot dog
Fat Dogs
“Hot Mama” Chili, Cheddar, Chili, Cheddar (try it with crushed corn chips )
“Big Poppi” – Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Barbecue Baked Beans, Diced Tomato
“Bubba Hog” – Bacon, Sautéed Mushroom, Tomato, Cheddar or American Cheese
“So Fresh” – Cucumber, Pickle, Celery, Onion, Tomato, Red Pepper, Ranch Dressing
“Bam Yankee” – Sauerkraut, Onion Sauce
“Call Me Slaw” – Creamy coleslaw, Onion
Mo Bettah – Skinny Dog Plus Choice of Any Four Toppings
Fry Daddy – Deep Fried Pork/Beef Dog
Veggie Dee-Lite – Sautéed Mushrooms, Sautéed Onions, Roasted Red Pepper, Cucumber, Celery, Sliced Carrot, Tomato, choice of cheese
Extras
No Charge:Onion, Hot Sauce, Ketchup, Brown Mustard, Yellow Mustard, Sweet Hot Mustard
35¢: Sweet Relish, Tomato, Onion, Black Olives, Roasted Red Pepper, Sport Peppers, Jalapenos, Ranch Dressing, Blue Cheese Dressing, Shredded Carrot, Peanut Sauce
50¢: Bacon, Chili, Sautéed Mushroom, Sautéed Onion, Garlic Mash
Soy Dog Available on Request ( add 50¢)
Sides to Go
$1.29: Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Chili, Barbecue Baked Beans
Beverages
Stinking Strong Coffee/Tea….$1.09
Soda ….$1.38
Water ….$1.39
Country Lemonade …$1.50
Some more from the archives, in no particular order.
Short Stop Diner, now Irene’s pupusas. Wheaton, MD
It’s a 1956 Kullman. The neon was nearly as big as the diner itself, but has since disappeared.
Then:
Now:
Diner- Front Royal, VA
It’s a 1956 Mountain View. Front Royal used to be a hotbed of diners. It had this one, Nick’s Good Food diner, the Do-nut dinette, and another ’50s stainless model. The other three have been knocked down, and this one’s now a used car dealer.
Now:
Frost Diner- Warrenton, VA
The Frost is a 1955 O’Mahony.
Inside
Counter
A sign of the times- Disco Fashion T-shirts
Pork Chop- $1.25, Fried Chicken $1.75
Tastee Diner- Silver Spring, MD
Tastee Diner- Laurel, MD
a rare Comac brand diner
Bud’s Broiler – New Orleans, LA
Bud’s Broiler
Allen Theater
Current Photos
Flower Theater
Current Photos
Summit Diner– Somerset, PA
Summit Diner
Moody’s Diner- Waldoboro, ME
Moody’s Diner
Diner- MA
Airport Diner – 15110 Kutztown Rd. – Kutztown, PA.
The Airport diner is a 1960 Silk City, serial number 6027, with zig-zag stainless
Philco sign – Pauley’s Electric Shop
222 Dutch Lanes Bowling
Emmaus Bowling Center – 16 Lanes – AMF – Emmaus, PA
Plaza 2331. Dig that plaid.
Trivet Family Restaurant – Breinigsville, PA – 1970s DeRaffele
Trucking Sign- Emmaus, PA
5th Street Diner – Temple, PA. Kullman replacing a Silk City
Giant Penguin
Backside of the Prospect Diner- Columbia, PA, a 1955 Kullman, as seen from the highway
This was my first real diner trip in a while. I met up today with Mike Engle, author of Diners of New York; the man behind NYdiners.com, and roadside buff and frequent Zippy the Pinhead contributor Ed Engel at the American City Diner, and headed out from there.
The first stop of the day was the American City Diner of 5532 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC. It’s a late ’80s Kullman, one of the early retro-styled diners, and one of the ones that did it right. For some photos as it appeared when new, click here. Since then, it’s been added on to, with a large side addition, and a front porch which obscures everything to the left of the vestibule.
The Left side of the diner- 2009
The left side of the diner – 1989
The former Howard Theater. Great rusty marquis on this one.
The now abandoned Wonderbread / Hostess Factory
Ran into a little excitement along the way between these two stops, but all’s well that ends well.
Northeast Academy of Dance Neon sign. Look at the detail at the left hand corner of the sign.
We hit up the Capital City Diner, which was moved here on the 20th. Watch the video of it being moved. This Silk City, formerly of Avoca New York, has made its way to the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast DC.
Photos at its original location and some backstory can be found at :A Real Historic Diner Coming to DC!
This next leg of the trip had some neat neon and signage
A&R Auto Parts
Syd’s Drive In / Liquor
Cross Roads
Tesst theater
Hyattsville Hardware / Franklin’s
Calvert House
Silver Spring’s old Canada Dry bottling plant
A quick stop at the Silver Spring Tastee was made.
Now
Then
More old photos can be found here.
Then a side trip to Forest Glen, parts of which have deteriorated greatly since my last visit.
Dinner at the Tastee Diner in Bethesda
Then
And the trip’s final stop at Bethesda’s former Little Tavern. A 1990 photo of it, when it was still a Little Tavern, can be found on the Diner Hotline.
Here are some photos, taken on a Linden area diner trip a few years back, of the White Rose System, a little ’50s kullman dinette.
Exterior of the Aberdeen eagle. The corner stainless and the curved window are still visible, but that’s about it. Brick and a red mansard roof disguise the true nature of the diner.
Aberdeen Eagle- All baking done on premises. The sign states that they’re open 24 hours, something becoming rarer all the time.
The rooftop neon. Presumably original to the diner, and not added at the time of the remodel.
The interior. Very boxy- lots of hard corners, almost no curves, other than that of the counter and the scalloped edges by the menu-board. It’s leaning towards the more space-age and environmental designs yet to come, while still staying within the confines of a classic 1950s stainless model.
Spindly stools with octagonal bases. Also interesting to note the use of an entirely tile floor. With the design of this diner, I would have expected terrazzo, and not older style mosaic tile.
Blue is the overwhelming color.
You don’t see too many of this model diner; not many with interiors with this kind of styling. What I have been able to find says it’s a mid ’50s Kullman. I’ve seen Kullman dinettes with similar boxy interiors, but this is the only full-sized diner I’ve been to quite like this. It has been covered over, years ago, with tan brick, with a dining room on the right, making it less recognizable from the road, especially when compared with the New Ideal Diner, just half a mile down the road and across the street. Inside it is essentially in-tact.
Here is a shot of Irene’s taken yesterday
Versus how it used to look as the Short Stop
The exterior doesn’t look like the fluting is original, it reminds me of the replacement material used on Mel’s diner, the former Lincoln diner of Lebanon, PA.
The former Short Stop diner was also known as the Time Out Diner. It’s a 1950s kullman dinette.
Other similar models include the:
White Crystal, which has a reversed floorplan, with the corner door on the right, and the White Rose System of Linden, New Jersey.
Both of those diners, however, have canted corners, identifying them as later models. Irene’s is an earlier kullman, with flat vertical sections, and a four window front facade, instead of a five window. Earlier model Kullman dinettes retained the corner door, but had rounded windows.
I have a couple more posts of these old slide scans to go.
The American City diner was built by Kullman in 1989, and was one of the first old style diners to be built. And it really nailed the look. Just take a look at the photos. With the exception of larger dimensions, the detailing and proportions were kept essentially the same as a ’40s model. It’s beauty was in its simplicity, the design was clean and beautiful. Based on pictures of them from when they were built, this one and the Silver Diner in Rockville are my two favorites from this era of diners.
Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart
Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart
Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart
Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart
Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart
Photo is copyright Michael G. Stewart
And here’s how it looks now. An awning has been added, obscuring the roof stainless work. The roof has been painted blue and red, a signboard has been added to the vestibule. A googie-esque addition has been added to the left hand side, as has a now closed in patio seating area, entirely covering the diner to the left of the vestibule. Everything about the diner has so much added onto it that the diner that was installed in 1989 is hardly recognizable.
Diner Hunter 
